WEBVTT AND SNOW. BRIAN: IT MIGHT BE FREEZING TO US OUT THERE, BUT AS CLIMATE CHANGE UPS TEMPERATURES EVEN SLIGHTLY, FORESTS IN OUR REGION COULD BE HIT HARD. TOM GARRIS SHOWS US, THAT COULD SLOW ONE SWEET VERMONT INDUSTR TOM G.: PETER PURINTON MAY NOT BE USING HIS SUGAR HOUSE YET, THE WOOD WOULD BE FED IN THROUGH THIS DOOR. TOM G.: BUT THERE’S STILL WORK TO DO BEFORE NEXT SUGARING SEASON. HE’S PREPPING HIS TUBES TO TAP TREES AGAIN IN 2019. HE SAYS THAT WARMING TEMPERATURES MAY BE SHIFTING THE SEASON TO START EARLIER. >> MAY BE THE NORMAL IS TAPPING THE 15TH OF FEBRUARY AND NOT THE 15TH OF MARCH. TOM G.: BUT THEY ALSO MEAN LESS SNOW ON THE GROUND, AND FOR OU REGION’S BELOVED SUGAR MAPLES. BOSTON UNIVERSITY BIOLOGIST PAM TEMPLER’S NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THAT A LACK SNOW COVER TO INSULATE SHALLOW ROOTS, COULD LIMIT THE MAPLES GROWTH, AND WIPE OUT PRIME SUGARING CONDITIONS. >> NOT THAT THE FOREST WILL DISAPPEAR, THE SPECIES LIKE SUGAR MAPLE COULD BE REPLACED OVER TIME. TOM G.: SHE SAYS SKI RESORTS ARE ALREADY FEELING THE EFFECTS, AND HAVE TO MAKE MORE OF THEIR OWN SNOW. AN EXAMPLE OF HOW BOTH SKI MOUNTAINS, AND MAPLE SUGARERS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO SWTICH UP THEIR TACTICS, AS WINTERS GET WARMER. >> THE INDUSTRY IS BEING STUDIED HEAVILY AS FAR AS TECHNIQUES, METHOD OF EXTRACTION. TOM G.: BUT PURINTON, WHOS BEEN AT IT FOR DECADES, SAYS. >> I PERSONALLY DO NOT SEE IT WIPING OUT THIS INDUSTRY RIGHT HERE IN THE NEXT 80 YEARS.

A new study from Boston University shows that increasing winter temperatures could hit trees in the Northeast hard."It's not that the forest entirely is going to disappear, but species like sugar maples could be replaced over time by others," said Pamela Templer, a biology professor at the university.She said that warmer temperature could lead to less snow on the ground, which many organisms rely upon for insulation. Without that snow pack, the roots on trees like sugar maples could freeze more easily, dampening growth."The big concern is that, over the long term, the conditions that make sugaring possible might disappear," she said.Ski resorts are already starting to see the effects, Templer said. Many are starting to rely more heavily on man-made snow.

HUNTINGTON, Vt. —

A new study from Boston University shows that increasing winter temperatures could hit trees in the Northeast hard.

"It's not that the forest entirely is going to disappear, but species like sugar maples could be replaced over time by others," said Pamela Templer, a biology professor at the university.

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She said that warmer temperature could lead to less snow on the ground, which many organisms rely upon for insulation.

Without that snow pack, the roots on trees like sugar maples could freeze more easily, dampening growth.

"The big concern is that, over the long term, the conditions that make sugaring possible might disappear," she said.